A Year In The Life

Jeremy Lin reflects upon the one-year anniversary of the game that launched an international phenomenon

Jason FriedmanRockets.com

HOUSTON - Jeremy Lin remembers everything. The tears of joy and (especially) relief. The euphoric phone calls to friends. Even his post-game meal.

Yesterday marked the one-year anniversary of the birth of Linsanity and the memories still burn as brightly as ever for the Rockets’ young point guard, even though in many ways his 25 point, five rebound, seven assist breakout performance feels as if it happened a lifetime ago.

“It’s felt somewhere about three and five years since that happened,” Lin admitted while reflecting upon the night an international phenomenon was born. “Yesterday everyone was like, ‘Congrats, it’s been one year.’ I actually didn’t even realize it until I got a text. It’s crazy. God has been really good to me. It’s only been a year but it seems like so long ago.

“It was definitely a whirlwind. I think I definitely enjoyed it. I definitely learned and grew a lot as a person. I got exposed to a lot more than I’ll probably be exposed to the rest of my life in terms of how fast everything happened. Every time I look back I’m just thankful because I still remember like yesterday what it was like to be fighting for my spot and coming to work every day being unsure if it would be my last. I’m just trying to stay thankful and grateful and keep that memory of where I used to be fresh in my mind so I don’t take things for granted.

“I remember I was just in the shower and I was kind of like in tears because it had been such a long journey for me. You think about not having a good game on an NBA floor for like a year and a half – that’s a long time. My last good game was probably in college and to have that good of a game a few days before the deadline was crazy. I still remember everything – the phone calls I made and where I went to dinner and all of that.

“I just want to keep getting better. I think for me, I have what I feel like can be my potential and I just want to keep working towards reaching that.”